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Last night Michael Drew was in Edmonton to speak about trends in society, where we’ve been, where we’re at and where things are headed.

First a bit of background … Michael has worked with a number of name authors (including T Harv Eker) moving these authors onto best seller lists across North America (including the New York Times). At age 30 his record is 58/58 in meeting this goal for his authors – this guy’s impressive.

Michael mentioned in a private conversation that he’s drawn to “big thinkers” … in his presentation he described “the age of authenticity” , which featured these two societal cycles …

A) “Civic Cycles”… where it’s not about BIG DREAMS, it’s about small actions. We started the most recent civic cycle in 2003, which society is prominently being guided by right now.

B) “Idealistic Cycles” …where it’s about the individual … 1983 was the most recent peak for this. “Billy Jean” by Michael Jackson came out and Madonna was also doing her thing. In this cycle there’s more glitz and glam … more plastic. In business & marketing in this period it’s about how the steak sizzles, not the steak.

Being that we’re in a Civic Cycle, it’s now about the “steak” – the content, an authentic experience and the true value for people. People turn to their friends and their circle for advice and experiences … advertising doesn’t work like it once did. For example, if someone has a bad experience at Future Shop they can instantly “tweet” about it and share it with 100’s to 1000’s of people. Future Shop can advertise all they want … but if they’re not delivering on their customer promise, their reputation can go sideways instantly. For you as it was for me this likely isn’t news … personally I found it profound the manner it which he described it and pieced it all together.

*** Here’s something Michael left us with that I wanted to share with you 🙂

10 Tips from Michael Drew – for Success in a “Civic Cycle”

# 1. Refer to things in your marketing materials, that you know your customer has experienced.

# 3. Evaluate what you’re doing to make a difference. (specifically in society … not the bottom line of your business)

# 4. Look for loopholes. Loopholes in your own business and close them. Expose them in your industry & competition; you’ll get the attention (example: Mac computer vs. Microsoft).

# 5. Make it easy on your website … to do this, you must have a website! It’s your bookmark on the web.

– Clear concise messaging that’s easy to “get” is key.

# 6. Don’t “wee-wee” all over yourself. In a “civic cycle” it’s not about you. It’s about others.

# 7. Learn two wonderful little words “which means”; complete the phrase “which means …” to explicitly let your customers know how what you do applies to them and benefits them.

#8 . When available, include raw unscripted testimonials.

– Don’t use testimonials with hype – whether it’s true or not people see through this. On Michael’s site he provides a perfect example – key in on the words “it’s not an easy strategy, but it’s effective“. When you watch this also notice how authentic/real Ivan Misner is vs. something really flashy & phony.

# 9. Keep your pocket notebook at all times.

– There’s golden nuggets of information around us everyday – capture it, you never know when it might come in handy.

# 10. Put someone in charge of studying the practical applications of social media. If you don’t have that person – you’re in charge!

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By the way – if you’re an author, Michael’s site is loaded with free tips, ideas and information. To apply a “raw testimonial”, it’s impossible for one to say Michael’s perfect … however 58/58 looks pretty perfect to me … haha.

Hey Mike – you’re very much in alignment with where Michael Drew was coming from. Social media is a tool, that society’s using to spread messages and communicate. For me – I’m just truly starting to understand the REAL impact of this now. Michael Drew really painted this picture incredibly well.

Hi Marie – yes it’s inspiring. Seems to align incredibly well with Satvatove’s work … you guys are the fast lane to finding authenticity in oneself. As mentioned in my email, Michael Drew referenced a quote from David – pretty cool. Michael spoke about bringing all the “big thinker’s” together in North America. I thought that was quite interesting and instantly thought about my Satvatove experience 🙂

Hey Great read buddie. i really like the point about the differences between “Civic Cycles” “Idealistic Cycles” understanding the differences in both and which cycle we are in now. Not knowing this can really your business. Its unfortunate to see so many people that think social media is just a fad but in reality that where fortunes will be created.